Acknowledged. Recycling in progress…

  Just like with the Fiends, the fat cyclops began to dissolve into smoke. Bit by bit, its crushing weight lifted, allowing Arthur to finally relax. Even if it hadn’t hurt, he had felt the steel of his hull bend, the tiny internal components snapping under the strain.

  Disturbing to say the least. Nothing like getting a cut as a human, or even breaking his arm.

  Huh… Another memory unlocked, he hummed. Damn… What the hell did I do to shatter almost every bone in my arm? At twelve no less.

  This time, Arthur received no answer. A bit disappointing, but not unexpected. It was a miracle he was still getting flashes of his lost memories at all. With how little he had left of his old life, he would take every scrap his mind managed to recover.

  He didn’t have time to dwell on it, though, as in that moment, the last of the monster disappeared. Right away, a notification appeared before him, followed by another and another.

  Recycling successful. 15 units of Inferior Omnimatter obtained.

  Same as the Fiends. Makes sense, I guess, he noted before his attention snapped to the next message. Now, that’s what I like to see.

  Battle won! 1 UP awarded. Your Core has grown stronger and advanced to Tier II of Inferior rank. Display full description and benefits now?

  That made him pause. Was there more to his Core’s description than just what he had read before? How the hell did he miss that? He could have sworn he had poked every single detail in his status. Was it just locked before his first advancement?

  Whatever. Let’s see it.

  [Warrior’s Core]

  Rank: Inferior (Tier II)

  Minor Powers: +5% Repair Rate per Inferior Tier (Currently: 10%)

  Major Powers: Self-repair

  Core Skills: Locked

  “A little happy Core that could. May it grow into a beautiful heart of murder and destruction.”

  Ah… so that’s how it works, Arthur thought, reading the description line after line. It was quite interesting to learn that his self-repair was one of his Core powers and not just some built-in function of the System. Then again, the lack of any mention about Ether also left him a bit confused.

  Wasn’t its production like the primary purpose of his Core?

  Arthur gave his mental equivalent of a shrug. No use troubling his mind over this. Sooner or later, the System would explain it anyway. Probably. Maybe.

  Yeah, better just move on.

  Thanks to his second win of the day, he was now left with a very important choice. What to upgrade with those wonderful five Upgrade Points he had gathered?

  The cannon? Machine gun? Maybe the Generator?

  Shit… How the hell do I decide? I want everything! Artur thought before mentally slapping himself. Okay, focus! What will I need the most once I can move again?

  Just like that, his weapons were off the list. As much as more firepower could be useful, he had enough for the time being. No, he had to choose a part that would help him the most during the trip across the Wasteland. After all, even if he wanted to go through the forest, it would be impossible. It was way too thick, and he was a goddamned tank.

  So yeah, he had to choose smart.

  Sensors? Could be valuable, but he still had no idea how this part really worked. The description just wasn’t enough. A no then.

  Armor… Arthur marked it as a maybe. That just left the Generator, Mobility, and Engine. And while upgrading the first sounded really nice, the current descriptions of the latter two didn’t inspire much confidence in him.

  The Wasteland might be almost barren here, but the ground was still uneven and littered with jutting rocks. Having a better engine or tracks could go a long way in making his life easier.

  So, which one to choose then?

  Time to flip a coin. Or well, an imaginary coin…

  It took a bit longer than he would have liked—courtesy of forgetting which side represented heads and tails—but by the end of his little game, the decision was made. He summoned the upgrade menu and proceeded before he could hesitate.

  Upgrading Mobility to Tier II. 5 UP consumed. Stand by…

  Curious about the process, Arthur activated Silent Observer again. His sight was instantly filled with light as a golden glow consumed the flanks of his vessel as well as some smaller parts all across it.

  Of course, aside from just seeing it happen, he also felt it. A strange energy—definitely not Ether—touched not only his vessel but also his Core. The triggers inside his mind also moved ever so slightly. Why? He had no idea. At least until the golden light vanished.

  Oh… That wasn’t mentioned in the upgrade menu.

  Upgrade finished successfully. Mobility has been returned to Pristine condition.

  Just as the notification pointed out, his tracks and the wheels controlling them were no longer damaged and lying next to his vessel. Now they were back where they should be, attached to him, and in one piece instead of dozens. Gone was the rust. And gone was the overgrowth that spread across every bit of his damaged tracks.

  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

  Pristine condition indeed.

  Arthur chuckled. So upgrades also repaired his parts. Good to know.

  The real question now… just how much better is this tier II?

  The System was happy to answer.

  [Mobility (Tier II)]

  Type: Reinforced Tracks

  Maneuverability: Below Average

  Special Effects: Grip Assist

  Combat Rating: F+

  “Not the best option on the market, but it should serve you well. Just maybe avoid swamps, hmm?”

  Okay, that’s definitely an improvement. Still far from perfect but better… or so I hope. Also, Grip Assi—

  Before Arthur could finish that thought, the current description vanished. Another one replaced it.

  [Grip Assist - Reduces movement penalties in bad terrain by 20%]

  His gaze drifted from the barren Wasteland back to the notification. Now that was convenient. He wasn’t complaining, though. Quite the opposite, in fact.

  With this, he just might avoid getting stuck in a random mud pit. Such a shame he couldn’t test this upgrade already. His engine still needed quite some time to return to Operational state.

  That said, there was another side of Mobility he could check out now.

  Move, Arthur commanded, and at once, his turret began turning to the left. If it moved faster, he didn’t notice. What he did notice, however, was the shift in the noise that followed this motion.

  While he could still hear the gears grinding against each other, now it didn’t sound as bad, or loud, for that matter. It was less of an ‘I’m gonna break in a moment,’ and more of a ‘I’m doing the best I can, don’t rush me,’ type of noise.

  A tiny but noticeable improvement.

  I will take it, Arthur thought, happy with his purchase. Anything else you have for me, System?

  It should have been the end of notifications, and yet another one still appeared before him. It was only a single line of text. But what a line it was.

  First purchase discount used. Prices have returned to normal.

  Arthur resisted the urge to run straight into the nearest tree… or well, he would if he could. The System really loved giving him pieces of useful information right after they became useless. Nothing to do about it, though. At least the price increase wasn’t that bad. Only five more UP than before.

  Yup, everything is fine. I’m not annoyed in the slightest. Happy thoughts.

  To give his mind something else to focus on, Arthur looked back at the Hell Gate. It had shrunk a bit; that much was obvious. Which meant his mission could be completed by just firing HE shells inside it. The question was, how many?

  Need bigger stock before I try again, that’s for sure. Four shells total just ain’t enough.

  Still, just to be safe, he aimed his cannon back at the gate. Hopefully, in another hour or two, he would have enough ammo to assault it again. His Generator, for some reason, refused to tell him just how much time it took to produce a single shell or a machine gun bullet.

  Fine, keep your secrets. I’m just gonna sit right here and wait… Damn, I’m bored again.

  Over two hours later, it was still raining. The worst of the storm had passed, but the constant downpour refused to fade. It was like the heavens themselves were weeping at the presence of the Hell Gate. And who knew, maybe there were…

  In other news, his Generator had finally done something.

  15 units of 7.62mm ammunition produced.

  1 unit of AP and HE shell produced.

  Not much, but still better than nothing. At the very least, Arthur now understood why his Generator’s description included that ominous little line: “Struggles to support all systems even at full power.”

  Still almost made him cry. Over two hours just for this?

  Arthur swore to upgrade the Generator next.

  After three more hours, he received another message from his Generator. It was exactly the same as the last one. Now, he was almost back to where he had been before the fight with the Cyclops. Not bad.

  Now, if only the rain could stop.

  The rain didn’t stop.

  By the time another pack of ammunition finished crafting, Arthur’s new body had been exposed to more water than most people saw in a year. Worse still, he could feel it seeping into the cracks and holes in his hull. He didn’t like that one bit.

  The only silver lining was realizing he could store the produced ammo inside his Armory. Sure, he could leave it inside his turret, but keeping it in a sealed and unreachable storage seemed like a smarter idea, at least for now, while he still had the space for it.

  Unfortunately, the discovery didn’t entertain him for long, and so, Arthur once again was bored. He almost wished that the Hell Gate would spew out more monsters at him. No such luck, though.

  Only fifteen more hours. Only fifteen more hours…

  Once night fell, and darkness swallowed everything except the glowing Hell Gate, Arthur couldn’t stand it anymore. He had to do something, or he would go mad. Watching the world through the barrel of his cannon just wasn’t cutting it.

  Silent Observer.

  The skill couldn’t have much left of its thirty minutes of free use, but he didn’t care. Not now. The future him could worry about the consequences, if there would even be any.

  Let’s see what I’m made of.

  While he already knew his exterior well enough, he had yet to check his interior. He was a tank, so there had to be some empty space inside him after all.

  Arthur floated to the front of his hull and stopped right before a partially destroyed closed hatch. A quick pull on one of the many triggers inside his mind popped it open. He drifted inside, the weak night vision of this form being just enough to let him see in the dark.

  The first thing he noticed was two old seats by the hatch. One for the driver, and the other for… a radioman? Assistant driver? His knowledge here was quite lacking.

  Now, while the seats seemed quite standard for his vessel, everything else didn’t.

  There were no controls for the driver anywhere. No radio or any other tools that the second person sitting there could use. Even stranger, as he moved further, he found no way to access the turret or main gun. It was completely sealed off by a thick plate of rusty metal.

  Explains why there is no hatch at the top, Arthur thought. Means I definitely can’t be steered by anyone other than me. That’s good… I think? Looks a bit empty, though.

  He was about to cancel his skill and return to boredom when he spotted something hiding right behind the driver’s seat. He floated closer before his non-existent eyes widened.

  An egg.

  A small one, maybe only just a bit larger than that of a chicken's. Its shell, however, was a nice blend of dark red and brown. To be honest, Arthur had never seen such an egg. Or maybe he did and just forgot?

  Not that it matters. I’m in a new world. I have no clue about the local fauna.

  One thing was certain. The egg had been abandoned, as proved by the sorry state of its nest and the single long crack on its shell. He couldn’t even blame the mother. If she had been here for his fight with the Fiends or even the appearance of the Hell Gate, then well…

  Sometimes you had to make the hard call.

  Sorry, buddy, Arthur muttered as he reached for the trigger responsible for Silent Observer. Before he could do that, though, a System prompt appeared in his sight.

  Potential detected. Do you wish to establish an Ether connection with the egg of the Bloodwing?

  Sorry what?